Thursday, 27 July 2017

Even
though I was born in ‘96, I still had the pleasure of experiencing the
animation renaissance of the nineties. There was a plethora of cartoons on
Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network that occupied my tiny mind and imagination: The Ren & Stimpy Show, Courage the
Cowardly Dog, Cow and Chicken, The Angry Beavers Rugrats, X-Men and The Powerpuff Girls to name a few. But,
there was one show in particular that has held onto my heart to this very day –
Rocko’s Modern Life.

At
the San Diego Comic Con last weekend (a convention I can only dream of one day
attending), Nickelodeon’s panel featured many of its iconic shows, whilst also
premiering the first footage of two one-hour specials: Hey Arnold! The Jungle Movie and Rocko’s Modern Life: Static Cling. I wasn’t an avid fan of Hey Arnold! when it was on Nickelodeon; I
watched it like any other cartoon airing at the time, but not as much as Rocko’s Modern Life.

I’ve been more
than content with watching re-runs and random sequences from Rocko’s Modern Life since it ceased to
air, but watching this new trailer has instigated a part of me that has always
wanted Rocko to come back. Whether
it’s from my insane nostalgia that I have for the decade or just a yearning for
my childhood, watching Rocko (voiced by Carlos Alazraqui), Heffer (voiced by
Tom Kenny), Filbert (voiced by Mr. Lawrence) and Spunko (voiced by Carlos
Alazraqui) back in O-Town (in this rather dangerous century, rather than the
1990s) filled a void that I didn’t know I had.

Reboots and
revivals of television series and films run the risk of completely ruining or
disregarding their seminal work. I tried not to be hesitant in waiting to see
this trailer, but of course I was a little tense before I hit the play button.
Thankfully, I needn’t have any hesitancy at all. After Rocko, Heffer, Filbert
and Spunky return from their twenty-year voyage in space, the infamous brush
makes its nostalgic appearance with Rocko, Heffer and Filbert peering through
the grass with Rocko exclaiming ‘Uh, fellas? I don’t think we’re in the 90s
anymore.’

source: nickelodeon

It certainly is
not, but that doesn’t stop show creator Joe Murray and the creative team behind
Rocko’s Modern Life from re-creating
the show’s famed satirical humour and its social commentary through
anthropomorphic caricature. With Rocko now living in the 21st
century, he is truly living a modern life that is inherently run by narcissism
and material needs.

In this nearly
3-minute trailer alone, the trio are subjected to a commercialized coffee shop
chain, arterial highways winding above and through O-Town, billboards looming
over confined houses and high-rise apartment buildings, alongside the
ever-looming presence of NSA drones and security cameras watching their every
move.

All Rocko,
Heffer and Filburt can say in response to this vastly different century is …
‘Wooooowwww’.

At first, Rocko,
Heffer and Filbert are ecstatic with these new changes and head out to try
everything that the 21st century has to offer. This exploration in
the world of smartphones (‘The O-Phone’), ‘radioactive’ power drinks and caffeine
highs sends Rocko slowly into a nervous breakdown. From being punched in the
face by a dark, 3D Really, Really (Really) Big Man (‘It’s so realistic) to
finding out that his job at Lots-O-Comics has been replaced by a 3D-printer,
it’s no wonder Rocko comes to the conclusion that ‘the 21st century
is a very dangerous century.’

The trailer
itself is bordered by the original opening with up-to-date changes. From the
trio emerging from the grass at the beginning to the famous sequence of Rocko
running from multiple characters towards the end, this ‘reboot’ (that Rocko is
literally thrown in to in this trailer) utilizes the original, animation style
that the show used in the early 90s whilst retaining a crisper visual aesthetic
due to today’s digital capabilities.

The original
voice actors are all there, the music and stylistic tones are still apparent
and the original creative team are at the helm. I wouldn’t even go as far as
calling Rocko’s Modern Life: A Static
Cling a reboot; rather a continuation of the series even if it’s only for
an hour.

Man, if all
goes well … I hope that they continue this as a fifth series.